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Draft Outline Document for the Operation of

Satoyama Development Mechanism 2019

(SDM 2019)

Contents

1. Satoyama Development Mechanism ............................................................................ 2

2. Scope ............................................................................................................................... 3

3. Governance .................................................................................................................... 4

4. Application ..................................................................................................................... 6

5. Selection process and criteria ....................................................................................... 7

6. Implementation, reporting and payment .................................................................. 10

7. Application forms and attachments ............................................................................ 11

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1. Satoyama Development Mechanism

What is the Satoyama Development Mechanism?

Since its launch in October 2010, the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) has

been working with its diverse partners to promote the sustainable use of socio-ecological production

landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) in both developed and developing countries. However, it was found

that there were barriers to the implementation of such activities on the ground, which are often due to

difficulties in securing initial financial investments. Although IPSI is trying to mobilise available

resources, many activities have not been implemented due to resource constraints. To address such

barriers, the "Satoyama Development Mechanism (SDM)" was established jointly by the United

Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), the Institute for

Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ) as a

collaborative activity under the framework of IPSI to facilitate further implementation of activities

under the IPSI.

Objectives of the Satoyama Development Mechanism

The purpose of this mechanism is to facilitate activities in line with the IPSI Strategy and Plan of

Action by providing seed funding to promising projects that demonstrate good practices. These

activities are expected to contribute to the retention and enhancement of biodiversity in SEPLS for

achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The fund aims to help recipients further develop their

respective projects to attract additional resources, while also facilitating collaboration among members.

As such, the SDM encourages the mobilisation of other financial resources for the implementation of

its activities. The outstanding activities supported under the SDM shall be shared among various

stakeholders through the IPSI.

The SDM is thus expected to:

- Promote the implementation of activities under the IPSI Strategy and Plan of Action

- Promote the development of model practices that enable people to live in harmony with nature

through sustainable use of SEPLS and contribution to achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

- Provide an incentive to IPSI members to strengthen their partnerships and to generate a knock-

on effect from their joint activities for the sustainable use of SEPLS

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2. Scope

Under SDM, a grant is provided to selected projects to support the development, implementation,

monitoring, and information dissemination on the sustainable use of SEPLS. The funds may be used

to support a wide range of activities implemented by IPSI members, and those which fall in line with

the IPSI Strategy. The grant particularly focuses on fostering model practices which are both replicable

and appealing to the IPSI member organisations and others who are engaged in SEPLS as well.

Proposals from IPSI members are invited under the following project types:

1) Community/field-based project implementation

2) Research activities

3) Activities to kick-start cooperation among IPSI members, including the holding of meetings,

workshops, and conferences, and

4) Activities aimed at capacity building and increasing awareness on IPSI, including the production

of educational materials and dissemination and outreach activities.

One or two projects will be selected under each of these four project types, and will be provided with

a maximum support of approximately 10,000 USD for their implementation.

To be selected for funding under SDM, it is a prerequisite that the proposed projects aim to generate

tangible outcomes towards changing behaviours and practices for enhancing sustainability, and

improving the status of SEPLS.

It is expected that the projects be implemented with good will and a spirit of partnership so that the

outcome of the successfully implemented project can be documented and shared as good practices of

the IPSI. The SDM Secretariat intends to disseminate information on good practices with a view to

facilitating the further replication of such successful initiatives.

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3. Governance

SDM is composed of three entities, the Executive Board, the Advisory Group, and the SDM Secretariat.

Executive Board

The Executive Board is the decision-making entity responsible for making decisions on and

supervising the implementation of the SDM, including the selection of projects, the review and

evaluation of achievements, and dissemination of information on the SDM. It is composed of the

following organisations:

- Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ)

- The United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS):

Chair

- The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Advisory Group

The Advisory Group provides advice on the design of the SDM, for strengthening the relevance of

SDM to the IPSI Strategy and other global agenda and goals including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as on the compilation and dissemination of

SDM outcomes. The following members of the Advisory Group have been appointed by the Executive

Board.

- IPSI members with relevant experience and qualification in similar grant management and

activities of the CBD, and

- The Chair of the IPSI Steering Committee.

Secretariat

The Secretariat is mandated to implement SDM operations, including but not limited to the tasks

listed below, under the decisions made and supervision by the Executive Board.

- Planning and implementing the SDM sub-grant project selection process,

- Contracting with and disbursing funds to the selected sub-grantee organisations,

- Monitoring and evaluating sub-grant projects,

- Collecting, organising and disseminating knowledge generated by the sub-grant projects, and

- Reporting on the above activities to the Executive Board.

The Secretariat is composed of the following organizations.

- Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

- United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)

Meetings

Meetings consist of two separate elements, namely Executive Board Meetings and Advisory Group

Meetings, both of which are chaired by the Chair of the Executive Board (UNU-IAS).

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1) Executive Board Meetings

Executive Board Meetings are convened to make important decisions on the implementation of SDM,

e.g. on the overall operations of SDM and on the selection of SDM sub-grant projects. At the request

of the representative of UNU-IAS as the Chair of the Executive Board, meetings may be conducted

either in-person, or virtually using electronic means, if needed.

2) Advisory Group Meetings

The Advisory Group Meetings are convened when necessary, either physically or virtually, to seek

advices from the Advisory Group members. At the request of the representative of UNU-IAS as

representative of Executive Board, the meetings may be conducted either in-person or virtually using

electronic means, if needed.

Governance structure of the SDM

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4. Application

All interested and eligible IPSI members (see eligibility criteria in page 7) are invited to apply for

SDM to implement activities that fall under one of the four project categories (see page 3) using the

project proposal template (Attachment 1). Proposed activities should be in line with the SDM

Objectives (see page 2). Applications should be submitted to the SDM Secretariat by 27 July 2019.

Approximately six (6) projects will be selected from among the eligible applications that the SDM

Secretariat has received by the deadline, in the light of the three criteria sets, i.e. eligibility, screening

and prioritisation criteria, and finally selected by the Executive Board.

Successful applicants will be notified by the SDM Secretariat. The applicants will be requested to

proceed to formulating and signing the Grant Agreement (GA) with the Secretariat before commencing

the project.

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5. Selection process and criteria

The consideration of proposals submitted to the SDM Secretariat will follow a step by step assessment

against the Eligibility criteria, the Screening criteria, and the Prioritisation criteria in order to develop

a short list of the proposals with priorities, which will be sent to the Executive Board for its

consideration and decision.

5-1 Eligibility criteria

Applicants satisfying the conditions outlined below will be eligible to be “long-listed”.

Eligibility criteria

1 The applicant is an approved member of the IPSI at the date of submission of the project

proposal.

2 The applicant has agreed to act as focal point of the proposed project to be contacted by the

SDM Secretariat, if the proposed project will be jointly implemented by more than one IPSI

members.

3 The applicant has demonstrated sufficient institutional capability to implement the proposed

project.

4 The applicant has demonstrated sufficient English proficiency to deliver a good project report.

5 The applicant is not a member of either the Advisory Group or the Executive Board of SDM.

6 Any applicant that makes an unequivocally false presentation of him/herself or his/her

organisation will be excluded from the SDM.

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5-2 Screening criteria

Successful applicants shall demonstrate high relevance of the proposed project to the concept of the

Satoyama Initiative through clearly and concisely responding to all the queries in the designated

project proposal format (Attachment 1). Only projects with a proposed duration of no more than 12

months will be considered. For shortlisting, project proposals will be assessed against four elements

of the screening criteria, i.e. relevance, effectiveness, feasibility and sustainability, with reference to

the viewpoints listed in the below table.

A Relevance

1 The contents of the proposed project address critical needs of local communities or issues of

international concerns such as those in line with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

2 The proposal addresses the Strategic Objectives outlined in the IPSI Strategy and Plan of

Action 2013-2020

3 The proposed project is likely to foster good practices and provide lessons that will be useful

for IPSI members and applicable to other SEPLS.

4 The proposed project fosters concrete collaborations between IPSI members.

B Effectiveness

5 The proposal outlines concrete outcomes and outputs of the project, and defines the process

and mechanisms for promoting key stakeholders’ engagement in the project

implementation.

6 The proposed project demonstrates cost effectiveness through efforts to achieve maximum

impact with the available resources.

C Feasibility

7 The proposal presents realistic project components and implementation plans for achieving

project objectives under the proposed timeframe.

8 The project proposal demonstrates appropriate implementation capacity, with detailed

institutional roles and modalities, and a reliable financial plan, including other sources of

funding.

D Sustainability

9 The implementing organisation has properly identified measures for mitigating possible risks

that may emerge in the project implementation process.

10 The project proposal intends to establish self-reliant operating mechanisms for the

continuation of project activities, and/or the activities promoted under the project are likely to

generate a positive knock-on effect after the cessation of SDM funding.

5-3 Prioritisation criteria

The Executive Board will assess the short-listed applications against the prioritisation criteria as listed

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below for final selection.

1 Facilitating IPSI Collaborative Activities

a. Priority will be given to collaborative activities that have already been endorsed under the

framework of IPSI, or to proposals that will lead to the formulation of new collaborative

activities.

2 Consideration for geographical and thematic balance

a. The geographical balance of project sites and implementing organisation locations will be

taken into consideration in the selection of recipients.

b. Priority may be given to projects targeting underrepresented regions, sectors, IPSI clusters, and

any other issues worth highlighting through the SDM.

c. Priority will be given to developing countries to support their community-driven activities, but

developed countries shall not be excluded.

d. The distribution of the types of projects described under the scope of the SDM may be taken

into account in the selection of recipients.

3 Consideration for wide distribution of funding to IPSI members

a. Priority will be given to project proposals from applicants who have not been previously

selected as recipients of the SDM funding.

4 Consideration for important funding needs

a. Priority will be given to project proposals that have demonstrated a strong need for support

from the SDM.

5 Consideration of innovativeness

a. Priority will be given to project proposals that have demonstrated innovativeness by addressing

critical needs of local communities and/or issues of international concerns through alternative,

unique or other novel approaches.

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6. Implementation, reporting and payment

6-1. Implementation

Upon a notification by the SDM Secretariat, grant recipients needs to formulate a Grant Agreement

(GA) with a Project Implementation Plan (PIP) attached, which is basically identical to the Project

Proposal submitted by the grant recipient for application, except for its document title (Project

Proposal => Project Implementation Plan). PIP however is subject to amendment(s) when necessary,

in consultation with the SDM Secretariat1.

GA constitutes a contractual agreement between the grant recipient and IGES as the representative to

the SDM Secretariat. The grant recipient shall thus owe the full responsibility to conduct activities in

accordance with GA and the PIP therein once the both parties sign on the GA. The necessity for any

modification of the project activities after the project commencement should be duly and timely

communicated with the SDM Secretariat. Where appropriate PIP shall be amended reflecting on the

proposed modification of the project activities, and approved by the SDM Secretariat2.

6-2. Reporting

For the projects falling under the categories (1) Community/field-based project implementation and

(2) Research activities, the grant recipient may be requested to submit an interim report to the SDM

Secretariat, as necessary, around the interim period of the Project. There is no designated format for

this report.

Upon completion of the project, the grant recipient shall submit a final evaluation report to the SDM

Secretariat, in line with the Evaluation Criteria provided in the below table and using the format

provided in Attachment 3, no later than the end of the project period specified in GA.

Evaluation Criteria

A. Relevance to IPSI Strategic Objectives: In what way has the project addressed the Strategic Objectives of the IPSI Strategy?

B. Relevance to Aichi Biodiversity Targets and SDGs: In what way has the project responded to the critical needs of the target group / target area, and/or dealt with the issues of

international concern such as the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

C. Progressive achievements and innovativeness: What kind of progressive achievements and/or innovative approaches/methodologies were demonstrated by the project which can serve as a model for further IPSI activities?

D. Long-term continuation of project activities: Has the project established any mechanisms/funding/partnerships for the wider dissemination of its experiences/lessons, or for the longer term continuation of its activities beyond the SDM project period?

6-3. Deliverables

The below table lists out the deliverables required of SDM projects for different project types, with

1 Significant amendment(s) from the project proposal to the project implementation plan may be

communicated with the Executive Board (EB), and when necessary subject to the approval by EB. 2 Significant deviation from the initial project implementation plan shall be subject to approval by EB.

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the timing in which each deliverable should be submitted.

Project type

Deliverables and timing

Project

commencement Interim period Project completion

(1) Community/field -

based project

implementation

GA

Project Implementation

Plan

Interim report

(as necessary)

Final Project Evaluation Report

Financial Statement

Any relevant materials or

documentations

Pictures

(2) Research activities GA

Project Implementation

Plan

Interim report

(as necessary)

Final Project Evaluation Report

Financial Statement

Research Report

Pictures

(3) Meetings,

workshops, and

conferences

GA

Project Implementation

Plan

N/a Final Project Evaluation Report

Financial Statement

Meeting/workshop programme,

discussion summary and/or any

relevant materials /documentations

Pictures

(4) Production of

educational materials,

dissemination and

outreach activities

GA

Project Implementation

Plan

N/a Final Project Evaluation Report

Financial Statement

Education materials /information

contents and others

Pictures

6-4. Payment

The grant recipient shall receive the first instalment (70%) of the total requested amount- upon

signing GA; and can request the second instalment (remaining 30%) once the project has been

completed and the final project evaluation report is submitted to and approved by the SDM Secretariat.

In cases that the planned project activities have not been duly completed by the end of the project

period specified in GA, all or part of the second instalment may be cancelled, or even refunding of all

or part of the first instalment may be requested by the SDM Secretariat based on assessment of the

outputs of the project.

7. Application forms and attachments

Attachment 1: Proposal Format (Word)

Attachment 2: Examples for filling the Proposal Format (PDF)

Attachment 3: Final Project Evaluation Format (Word)

Attachment 4: Definition of Terms (PDF)

Attachment 5: IPSI Case Study Summary Sheet template (Word)